


All the Stars

by Baby_Buu



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: 7 year gap, Animal Death, Bittersweet Ending, Cancer, Death, Grief, Loss of a Friend, Loved One Dying, Sad, dealing with death, dragon balls can’t fix everything, im going through some stuff, kids dealing with death, messed up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 08:47:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27348382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Baby_Buu/pseuds/Baby_Buu
Summary: Something is wrong with Icarus.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11





	All the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> This is new territory for me. I had to put my precious baby boy down in September. My sweet little cat got kitty cancer and this was my way of trying to deal. I know it’s not something I want all my readers to read, given how this is nothing like what I usually write. Even my sad stuff and angst is nothing like this. 
> 
> I was told posting it might help others tho. So please be warned, Icarus gets cancer and dies in this story. I don’t want anyone to be surprised.

When Gohan woke up it was a perfectly normal day. The sun was just beginning to rise, his mom was already busy in the kitchen making breakfast. He could smell the wonderful aroma of a delicious home cooked meal. He sat up in his bed and stared over at his little brother. He was sleeping sprawled out across his whole tiny bed. It reminded him so much of his dad. It brought a bittersweet smile to his face. Goten was so similar to his father both in looks and personality. He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer. Wherever his dad was, whatever he was doing, Gohan hoped he was at peace with himself. He missed him dearly, but even young as he was, he understood his reasoning. He knew after all, how that much responsibility felt like. To have that much weight on your shoulders. He sighed. It wasn’t any good to have such thoughts this early, so he shook them off. He gently woke Goten and then they went to set the table for breakfast.

Gohan studied during the morning, then did his household chores after lunch. Once done with that his mom allowed him to pretty much do whatever liked until dinner. Goten was restless so he opted for them to go outside and do some exploring. They each kissed their mom goodbye and then hopped on Nimbus to find something fun. Goten was too young to fly, but didn’t like to be carried. He was really growing up. Chi Chi had even mentioned starting to train him. Gohan marveled at the change of heart, but his dad choosing to stay dead had effected them all differently.

They found a Forest they frequented often and had Nimbus drop them off. Goten especially liked to play with all the different animals. They laughed and ran around for a while . Visiting all their friends. A lot of babies had been born since spring hit, and they had a lot of new faces to see and watch. They walked by a familiar cave and Gohan figured they might as well stop and say hello to Icarus. The little dragon had grown pretty big over the last few years and started a family of his own. Gohan missed him dearly but still saw him from time to time. He grabbed Goten and they called Nimbus back. Icarus hadn’t been in this area for while, but it still gave Gohan a wave of nostalgia to be there. 

The wind rippled around them as they headed to Icarus’ new home. They laughed and rough housed the whole way from where Nimbus landed to the cave. They were greeted by Icarus’ lady friend. She was oddly somber and seemed distressed. Gohan was instantly on alert. 

“What’s the matter Ariadne?”

Goten stopped laughing and chasing a butterfly next to him. Gohan tried to pet her, but she was too wound up. She ran off inside the cave and they followed after her. What he saw made his blood run cold. He had been worried it was one of the young ones in trouble, but when he walked in he could see Icarus curled up in a ball. He was pale, breathing funny and looked like he had lost a lot of weight. There was what looked like throw up all around him. It made Gohan’s stomach turn. 

“Gohan what’s wrong with Icarus?” Goten asked him, full of concern. 

“I’m not sure buddy, we gotta get him to Dende though, this looks bad.”

Goten nodded. Gohan gently went and picked Icarus up. He was huge but Gohan was strong. He hadn’t been training too much lately but it was still in his genes.

“It’s okay girl, we’ll be back.” He tried to reassure Ariadne, who was digging at the ground in the corner. Obviously upset.

Gohan flew to the lookout carrying Icarus and Goten flew behind him on Nimbus. It was a relatively quick flight, but it seemed to take forever for Gohan. His mind was buzzing with wild thoughts.

They arrived at the lookout and Goten went to find Dende. The young guardian of the earth had grown, just like Gohan over the years. He ran over with Goten trailing behind full of concern. 

“Dende, can you help him please? He’s my friend.”

Dende nodded and Gohan set the dragon down as gently as possible. Dende got to work immediately using his healing powers. He frowned as he worked and Gohan became alarmed. 

Dende concentrated further, but still frowned. He hovered over Icarus for some time. Gohan felt like he was holding his breath waiting for Dende to look over at him and smile and say everything was fine. After a while Dende finally stepped away but he didn’t look at Gohan. 

“I’m sorry Gohan, something is wrong.”

Gohan looked down and Icarus licked his face. He seemed awake and aware but he didn’t physically look any better.

“Dende what’s wrong?”

Dende looked thoughtful. 

“Something has taken over his body. It’s draining him, but his body has accepted it and doesn’t think it’s anything I should fix. I apologize but whatever I did to help won’t help him in the long run.”

Gohan thought about this.

“What about the Dragon Balls?”

“That could work.”

“Come ok Goten, we’ve got work to do.”

They left Icarus with Dende at the look out and flew on Nimbus straight to Capsule Corp to get the Dragon Radar from Bulma. 

Bulma had looked at him funny when he explained what was going on but ultimately handed over the radar without a word. They went to work quickly. But only found a few before it was beginning to get dark. They had to go home and explain to their mom why they had missed dinner. Chi Chi was upset they hadn’t come home sooner but allowed them to continue their search for the Dragon Balls the next day granted they studied for twice as long the day after that. 

The next day they went straight to work trying to find the Dragon Balls. The radar took them all over the world. It might have been fun under different circumstances but Gohan was worried. Even Goten wasn’t his cheerful self. Finally they had all seven and they flew back to the Look Out at top speed. They had Dende call the Dragon.

“Eternal Dragon Shenron, by your name I call you forth. Please come and grant our wishes.” Dende called into the sky with his arms raised. 

Gohan watched in awe and flinched slightly to himself. The last time he saw Shenron was when his father had decided to stay dead after sacrificing himself. He tried to push that thought back and focus on the task at hand. 

The sky darkened and out of the orbs appeared Shenron in his mighty Glory. He wrapped around himself a few times and his eyes glowed red. Goten audibly gasped beside him. Gohan forgot in all the chaos that Goten had never seen him before. 

“I am the mighty Shenron. I will grant you three wishes. Speak, what is your first wish?”

“Shenron,” Dende spoke pointing to Icarus, “Can you heal this dragon to perfect health?”

Shenron studied Icarus. Gohan felt hope bubble up in his chest.

“It can be done.” 

They all cheered.

“However, what plagues him will come back. It is a part of his biology and I will not be able to cure him a second time.”

They had stopped cheering the second. Shenron began speaking again. Goten was confused. Gohan didn’t want to believe it.

“What do you mean, even if you fix it he’ll still get sick again?”

“Yes, dear child. It is a natural part of life. I could remove it for now, but it will come back. Do you wish for me to heal him now anyway?”

Gohan considered this. Earth was at peace for now, but who knows if they would need a wish later. Was it right to use the wish now?

“Gohan.” Dende said his name quietly. “He is your friend, what would you like to do?”

Gohan thought wildly. Once again he had to make an important decision about life or death. He didn’t know what was right.

“How long?” He asked Shenron. “How long until it would come back?”

Shenron looked directly into Gohan’s eyes but he didn’t look away.

“It is hard to say for certain. Not long for your measurement of time. A few months at most. Less than that more than likely.”

Gohan blanched at that. If they healed Icarus he would be sick again in a few months. The Dragon Balls needed a whole year to recharge. He looked at Icarus, a pale comparison of his old self. He looked at Goten who was confused and had tears in eyes. He thought about his dad. He thought about Piccolo. What would they do? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Shenron, I choose to save the wish for a later time.”

He felt Dende place a hand on his shoulder. 

“Very well. Until next time.”

Shenron disappeared in a flash of light and the Dragon Balls scattered above their heads in seven different directions. Gohan leaned into Dende and cried.

They took Icarus back to the his cave later and went home to talk to their mom. Piccolo was there and Gohan explained what happened to him. Once he was done Piccolo grabbed his shoulder.

“You made the right choice Gohan.”

Gohan teared up a bit at the affirmation. Even if it was the right thing, he still felt awful. 

He went to check on Icarus once a day after that. He was always happy to see him, but he still looked so sickly. Finally one day he went to check and heard soft cries. He walked into the cave slowly and saw Ariadne draped over Icarus and crying. He sucked in a breath and it hitched. He went to her side and patted her.

“It’s okay girl.”

She didn’t respond and he knew it wasn’t true. He sat in the cave for awhile crying silently. He thought of all the great times they had together. He remembered flying around together and the little dance routines they used to come up. Icarus had truly been his friend. He walked out of the cave later and saw Piccolo standing there. Without a word he run to him and hugged his leg. He began sobbing uncontrollably. Piccolo just patted his back and let him cry.

Afterward they prepared a little burial and Dende appeared with Goten riding Nimbus behind him. Once Goten arrived they each said a few words. Goten didn’t seem to understand exactly what was going on. Gohan did his best to explain it.

“So he’s an angel up in heaven, like daddy?”

Gohan held back a choked sob. Piccolo had to answer for him. Dende held Gohan’s hand. They stayed like that while, just staring at the ground where they had buried Icarus. 

Eventually, although Gohan didn’t remember how they arrived home and he fell asleep in his own bed.

Gohan thought about Icarus often. A lot of little things reminded him of his friend. Time passed. He changed and grew. His dad came back from the dead. It was great to have him back. He like to see Goten get to know his father. It was a few years after Icarus had passed, on the day of the anniversary he stood around the grave with Videl, Goten, Dende, Piccolo, and his father. Gohan was somber. 

Goten had grown too, but his innocent outlook on life hadn’t wavered from the experience. 

“Hey dad you can travel anywhere in the whole universe right?” 

They all turned to him. Goku picked him up and put him on his shoulder.

“Yeah that’s right. It’s called instant transmission. It’s pretty cool right?”

“Yeah it’s cool. I was wonder though, you used to be dead. Would you be able to take us to see Icarus?”

Everyone stopped dead. Goten looked confused at everyone. 

“Well he could, couldn’t he?”

“It is not normally possible, but I bet for you Goku King Yemma would make an exception.”

Gohan was floored. He hadn’t even considered that. Videl grabbed his hand and squeezed it. 

“Alright guys hold on, I’ll be back real quick.”

Goku set Goten down, before placing his hand to his forehead and disappeared. He was gone a few minutes before he returned to the same spot.

“King Yemma said it’s okay this once, but I can only bring Gohan. The rest of you will have to stay here.”

“Oh man, that’s not fair.” Goten pouted. 

“I’m sorry Goten, Gohan has already been to the land of the Kais so it’s okay. We’ll tell Icarus you said hi okay?”

Goten pouted but nodded. 

“Are you ready Gohan?”

Gohan squeezed Videl’s hand before releasing it. 

“I’m ready dad.”

Goku grabbed his shoulder and then they were somewhere else. It was beautiful. Gohan looked around. Lots of green grass, beautiful flowers. The sky was a lovely light shade of blue. He felt a huge wave of comfort wash over him. 

“Come on son, he should be near by.”

Gohan followed after him. It only took a few minutes before he spotted a familiar color. He ran to him the second he saw him. 

“Icarus!” He called. He was crying and laughing. 

The dragon turned in surprise at his name but cheered when he saw Gohan. Gohan crashed into him and they both fell down and rolled on the ground. Gohan was hugging his neck. He started crying even harder. 

“Icarus, I missed you so much!”

Icarus licked his face and nuzzled him. Gohan held onto him tighter. It was so good to see him.

“I’m so sorry Icarus.” Gohan whispered into his neck. Icarus nuzzled him harder. 

“He’s not upset with you Gohan. He knows you did what was best.” Goku said walking up behind him. 

Gohan just burst into tears at that. Since it happened he had been worried Icarus wouldn’t understand. Worried he hadn’t made the right choice. It was like a huge weight had been lifted. 

After awhile he finally detached himself and stood up. Goku came and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

“Hello again, Icarus.” Goku nodded at him.

Icarus smiled and made a happy sounding noise.

“Better say goodbye Gohan, we aren’t supposed to stay here for very long.”

Gohan nodded, before going to hug Icarus again.

“Goodbye Icarus. Until we meet again.” 

Gohan kissed him on his cheek, before walking back over to his dad. Goku gave him a quick hug before pulling back enough to transport them back to earth. They were back where they started. Gohan ran to Videl before pulling her into a big hug. She rubbed his back.

“Shh... it’s okay.” She soothed him.

He couldn’t speak but if he could he would have told her that it was okay. Instead he just held her tighter for awhile.

**Author's Note:**

> It’s almost been 2 months and I have another big death anniversary coming up. I am overwhelmed and don’t know what to do. Hopefully the Internet won’t mind one more fic where the author is dealing with some personal shiz


End file.
